The City of Erie is continuing to help out businesses negatively impacted by the pandemic.

On Thursday, Mayor Joe Schember highlighted two organizations that received a portion of the city's American Rescue Plan funds.

Dina's Authentic Dominican Kitchen received a $5,000 grant.

The restaurant opened in the Flagship City Food Hall back in 2021, during the pandemic.

The money was used to purchase kitchen equipment and jump start marketing efforts.

"Being a small business is difficult, especially in a place that was so affected by COVID," said Dina's Authentic Dominican Kitchen co-owner John Csir. "There are a lot of business that are really hurting."

Bishop Frank Quinn of Christian Ministries of the Apostolic Faith Church received a $60,000 ARP grant.

The money helped upgrade the West 10th Street church, which also serves as a daycare and entrepreneurial hub.

"We consider ourselves a community cornerstone project," said Bishop Quinn. "We help individuals to achieve their goals and to achieve things that they need as far as economic recovery and spiritual deliverance."

So far, the city of Erie has distributed $32 million of its $76 million in ARP funds.

"We do still have a lot of funding that is set aside for a certain purpose but no one has applied for it yet or we haven't opened it up yet," said Erie Mayor Joe Schember. "We have until the end of 2026 to spend it off. I don't think we'll have any problem doing that at all."

For businesses and restaurants, the additional funding goes a long way.

"Funding like this really helps small businesses take a little bit of a breath and to be able to invest in things they normally wouldn't invest in," said Csir. "It's very important."

This story is supported by the Economic Hardship Reporting Project.